Darkness Reformed
by Alanna Artroid 00
Summary: Solaris is at last defeated. Shadow and Mephiles are somehow placed in some sort of void. Mephiles is fading, and Shadow has little time to reform this being of darkness and save his soul. SLIGHT MEPHADOW.


Darkness Reformed

It was done. Shadow, Sonic and Silver finally defeated the mighty Solaris. The three hedgehogs returned to their normal forms. Before they could react, a bright light from Solaris consumed them. Silver was sent back to his time. Sonic was put with Princess Elise. And Shadow…

When Shadow awoke, he seemed to be in another part of space. It looked like a blue void of sorts. When Shadow looked in front of him, something was forming before him. Once it finish, shivers went down his spine.

It was Mephiles, somehow still alive.

Before he could react to the Dark's presence, Mephiles charged toward the black hedgehog.

"DAMN YOU SHADOW!"

Shadow closed his eyes expecting the worst. But all he felt was a breeze. When he opened his eyes again, Mephiles was not in front of him and he had no injuries. He turned around to see Mephiles in shock. The Dark turned back to the hedgehog and tried to attack again, this time slashing his chest.

But what should have cut through his flesh simply went right through it. Shadow's eyes widened. Mephiles was shaken by this. Why weren't the attacks working?! Mephiles tried to grab Shadow's neck, but his claw went in as if he were a ghost. Shadow couldn't feel any of this. It was only like a small breeze passed by. He looked at the claw that should have been strangling him. He lightly tried to hold the wrist, but he just went through it as if it was air.

Mephiles took his claw back and stared at his shaking hands. This was when Shadow got a good look at the crystal being.

He was faded. He looked like a ghost. Mephiles clenched his trembling fists and closed his eyes tightly. "Why Shadow…?" He started. Shadow stared at him in confusion. Mephiles ripped his eyes back open and lowered his arms.

"WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS TO ME?"

Shadow was taken aback by his sudden raise in volume. He NEVER spoke that loudly before. Even when he refused him, TWICE! Shadow regained his stance and answered the dark creature before him.

"Because of what you've done, what you've planned to do!"

Mephiles grimaced at the black hedgehog. Shadow was not intimidated by him. "You want everything dead, you killed Sonic, and you tried to erase all of time, why shouldn't I have done it?!"

The dark clenched his fists even tighter and lowered his eyes so Shadow might not have seen. But Shadow could see it all right. He could tell that Mephiles was holding back his emotions.

"I thought you would understand," the dark softly said, hoping he wouldn't hear, but he heard. Mephiles looked up a bit to look Shadow in the eyes. "Shadow…"he said a bit louder so he could hear more clearly, "I did nothing to this world, until the accident."

He looked back down. "You sealed me away for reasons I did not understand. When one is sealed away for ten years, you lose sense of what is right and wrong. Therefore…" Mephiles looked back up, "I decided the world should suffer the way it made me."

Then it hit Shadow like a brick, Mephiles went through the same thing he did.

And he caused a part of it.

"Those humans…had no right to torture me, and NEITHER DID YOU!" Mephiles pointed his claw at the black hedgehog as he said those last four words. "I believed I was alone, but then I found out the truth about you: your future…and your past."

Shadow took a step back upon hearing this. Knowing about his future was one thing, but his PAST, his beginning, the events that made him who he is, was another!

Mephiles lowered his hand. "Mankind has tortured you just as they have to me. And yet you refused to join me, did you forgive them?"

Shadow took a deep breath. Mephiles would think he was crazy for this, but he was too.

"Yes, I did forgive them."

Mephiles looked at him with shock. "How…how could you POSSIBLY FORGIVE THEM?"

Shadow clenched his fists and looked down. "There was one human that I trusted. I promised her I would protect them." Shadow looked back up at Mephiles, whose eyes were filled with so many emotions Shadow couldn't read them.

"But they killed her! How can you possibly listen to her?"

Shadow sighed and unclenched his fists. He reached out and was somehow able to hold Mephiles' hand. "That's how you and I are different Mephiles."

Mephiles relaxed his hands so Shadow could get a better hold. Shadow raised their holding hands to chest level. "Maria meant more to me than you could imagine. She trusted me when no one else would. You never had the chance to have someone like that, and I'm one of the reasons why."

"Shadow…"

The black hedgehog closed his eyes. "I understand how you feel Mephiles, I wanted them to suffer after what they did to me, but revenge can't undo what's been done, same with you."

Shadow opened his eyes to see that the being before him was holding his hand tightly. "But why did they do it to us in the first place? What right did they have?" Shadow could see the tears in Mephiles' red and green eyes. He could tell that he was trying very hard to hold them back, so Shadow wouldn't see his tears as weakness.

Shadow sighed and gently lifted the faded dark's head to get a better look at those red and green eyes of his.

"Because people fear what they don't understand, Mephiles."

Mephiles' eyes softened a tad. "Given time, people can learn to not fear some things," Shadow continued, "If they can learn to accept me, I'm certain they can do the same for you."

The crystal being held Shadow's hand a bit tighter. "Shadow…can YOU accept me?"

Shadow let go of his hand and lightly hugged Mephiles tightly. "Yes. I can."

"Shadow…"

Mephiles couldn't hold back any more. He hugged Shadow back and let his tears run out of his eyes. He thought revenge would taste sweet, but forgiveness tasted much better than he ever thought possible. Shadow cried a bit too.

It was short lived however, as Mephiles started fading. The two let go of each other. No, Shadow wouldn't let this happen to him. But what could he do?

As that thought crossed his mind, the seven chaos emeralds appeared around them. They began to glow and twirl around the two. Shadow and Mephiles got the hint. They put their hands together and wished very hard.

The emeralds heard their thoughts and glowed even brighter. Mephiles seemed to glow a bit too, or was he even more faded? Either way, he seemed scared. "Shadow?" He asked shakily. Shadow held the dark's hand and smiled. "Don't worry, I promise you we'll meet again."

Mephiles hugged Shadow again as he was almost gone.

"Thank you…Shadow."

With that, Mephiles faded completely.

More tears streamed from Shadow's eyes once the dark was gone. He then noticed a powder blue ring on the ground. It was one of the two that were on Mephiles' wrists. Shadow picked it up and held it tightly in his hands.

This was all that was left of Mephiles, for now.

Shadow would protect it with his life.


End file.
